Rosh's Reviews

AUTHOR: Korie Leigh ILLUSTRATOR: Mike Malbrough GENRE: Children's Nonfiction, Picture Book PUBLICATION DATE: April 4, 2023 RATING: 3.5 stars. In a Nutshell: A picture book exploring the concept of grief and what can be done in its shadow. A good way of getting kids to understand and handle their complicated feelings during times of loss. Interactive questions to help the process. A little repetitive, though this aspect might be helpful as well. Great information for adult caregivers at the end. “Someone I love died.” An apt start for a children’s book on grief. By not naming the “someone”, the book allows itself to be open to any kind of personal loss. It even clarifies how grief is a natural response in the face of a loved one’s death but it can also be felt in other situations. The information provided on tackling grief is simple yet effective for little ones. It explains what might feel changed in their mind as well as their body. For every point it makes, it also asks a related...

AUTHOR: Scott Goldie GENRE: Children's Illustrated Nonfiction, Science PUBLICATION DATE: January 6, 2026 RATING: 3.5 stars. In a Nutshell: An illustrated book about the anatomical constituents of the human body. Presented in a humorous way. Quite elaborate, with fairly comprehensible explanations. A good option for older middle-graders. The book delivers exactly as promised by the title and the tagline. The content explores the components of the human body, beginning from the basics. So we get a detailed look at the skeleton, the muscles, the key (and not-so-key) organs, the senses, the constituents of cells and blood, and so on. As the content is organised in terms of role in the human body, the book is highly structured and hence easy to peruse through. Beyond the basic biological information, it also has several fun sections such as ‘Four Facts and a Fib’ and Breakthroughs. While the information does get science-heavy at times ( it cannot be avoided in such a topic after all ), ...

AUTHOR & ILLUSTRATOR: Paula Bowles GENRE: Children's Picture Book PUBLICATION DATE: March 3, 2026 RATING: 4.25 stars. In a Nutshell: A picture book that delivers on content, message, language, and illustrations. Covers an important topic in a fun way. Definitely recommended. Plot Preview: After a long journey, Toco the toucan has finally found the right tree for his dream home. He starts drawing plans for his treehouse, thinking of a warm and cosy place that will be perfect for him and hoping that the neighbours will also be friendly. Well, they are, overly so. The other toucans show up one by one to help, which makes Toco quite happy at first., But he soon realises that they are building the treehouse they want, not the one he wants. Toco tries to make peace with their version, but he soon feels overwhelmed. Will he be able to tell them what he really wants? In a world that is increasingly loud and aggressive, quieter children (and adults) often resort to the habit of staying...

AUTHOR: Moira Butterfield ILLUSTRATOR: Ro Ledesma GENRE: Children's Nonfiction PUBLICATION DATE: August 19, 2025 RATING: 4 stars. In a Nutshell: A funny and informative picture book about the various hics and toots of the human body. Educational in content and entertaining in tone. A good choice for any child (and adult) interested in anatomical noises. 😉 You already know that the human body makes sounds. Not counting our verbalised intelligible communication, we still create plenty of noises. Involuntary audible sounds through farts, burps, stomach gurgles ( It’s called “borborygmi”! I never knew! ), hiccups, and so on; hidden involuntary sounds inside of our body that we are never aware of such as heartbeats; sounds coming because of age or illnesses such as creaky joints or coughs; voluntary sounds we make while blowing raspberries or shushing someone at the library; and even voluntary noises such as claps – the book covers it all. There are also several examples of animal (and...

AUTHOR: A.Y. Chan GENRE: Middle-Grade Fiction PUBLICATION DATE: June 4, 2024 RATING: 4.25 stars. In a Nutshell: A power-packed adventurous ride for middle-graders. Loved the characters, the martial arts, and the focus on Chinese culture. An excellent OwnVoices debut. Much recommended! Plot Preview: Modesty Seto, aka Mo, is a highly competitive twelve-year-old taekwondo champ who always seeks the gold medal. Her mother isn’t happy with her passion for martial arts, but her dad is her biggest supporter. Lately though, her dad seems to have other priorities, and this hampers Mo’s confidence, as does her losing streak against her archnemesis Dax, who has grown much bigger than her. Oh, why does she have to be so petite? When Mo hears of a chance to audition for the latest movie of Cody Kwok, her favourite actor and a mind-blowing martial artist, she is willing to do whatever it takes to star in the movie, even if it means going against some explicit instructions. Her plan is aided by a m...

AUTHOR: Jen Daily ILLUSTRATOR: Gwen Millward GENRE: Children's Nonfiction PUBLICATION DATE: June 11, 2024 RATING: 4.75 stars. In a Nutshell: A brilliant exploration of the “magical science of feelings”, highlighting some important information and action strategies to handle emotions in an easy-to-understand manner. Loved the content as well as the approach. Much recommended! Feelings are often viewed as ‘abstract’ concepts. Kids know about common feelings, but they do not realise how these are directed within our bodies, originating from our brains but affecting our entire self. Even some adults might be surprised to discover just how much physiology is involved in our emotions. This book seeks to bridge the gap between the abstract and the concrete. It explains, in as simple a way as possible, how various components within the brain function during various emotions. The feelings tackled by the book aren’t just common ones such as happiness or worry, but also some complex ones s...

AUTHOR: Effua Gleed ILLUSTRATOR: Juanita Londoño Gaviria GENRE: Children's Picture Book RATING: 4.5 stars. In a Nutshell: A lovely story about a little princess who has a bed-wetting problem. Loved the story as well as the illustrations. Great for kids who share the same problem and are looking for moral support and a helpful suggestion. Story Synopsis: Princess Amma has a lovely time all day at her palace, playing with her parents the King and the Queen, and her Grandma Grace. However, at night, her imagination works against her, bring a host of worries. The result? A wet bed in the morning. No matter how many suggestions the palace staff and the royal parents try out, nothing helps. Until it is time for Grandma Grace and her wisdom. What’s not to love about this story! Every single bit is charming, right from the punny title to the theme to the plot to the illustrations. Amma with her giant afro makes for the most adorable princess. Her imagination is as wild as her hair, and he...

  AUTHOR:  Harry Woodgate ILLUSTRATOR:  GENRE: Children's Picture Book RATING: 3.7 5 stars. In a Nutshell:  A lovely story about a shy boy who is intimidated by their “lion” whenever they have to perform in front of others. Loved the intent, liked the content, adored the illustrations.  Story Synopsis: Little Timmy loves to perform. They spin around in their homemade costumes, singing at the top of their voice and becoming whoever they wish to be. The problem is that this performance is restricted to the confines of their room. Though they dream of performing on stage someday, they know the dream will never come true because of a giant hurdle: a lion. Whenever they try to do anything new, the lion pops out of nowhere and roars away their confidence. When the teacher announces the upcoming class play, Timmy is too dejected even to sign up. Their friend Nia decides to help them out.  The problem of shyness is a fairly common one, in adults as well as kids. In...

AUTHOR: Virginia Wilde GENRE: Humour, Quotes. RATING: 3.75 stars. In a Nutshell: A humorous compilation of quotes and one-liners by older women for older women. If you are on the higher side of the ‘young’ spectrum *wink, wink*, this offers an entertaining ride. Who defines what counts as ‘old’? Over the last few decades, the definition of ‘old’ has changed with every subsequent generation. Forty became the new thirty. Then sixty became the new forty. While maths went for the toss and took logic along with it, the fact is that ageing today is a much different experience than it was a century ago. With improved medical facilities and better standard of living, the average life expectancy of people the world over has increased, and so has the number of “senior” citizens. At the same time, people (especially but not only women) don’t want to age naturally. Ironing out wrinkles through Botox, avoiding greys through incessant hair dyes, wanting to be slim through fad diets – it’s like ev...

AUTHOR: Jaspreet Kaur ILLUSTRATOR: Manjit Thapp GENRE: Children's Nonfiction RATING: 3.25 stars. In a Nutshell: Love the intent and the parting note about ‘mindfulness in the city.’ The content left me with mixed feelings. Cities can be overwhelming. Storybooks often highlight the joy and peace of country living, and cities are shown as busy and bustling places with lots of noise and crowds. The portrayal is valid, no doubt. But does this mean that city dwellers can seek no respite from the noise? Where can children who feel anxious about city hyperactivity find their safe bubble? The book offers some potential spots of respite, where children can take a breather. At the end of the book is a two-page note about how we can practise mindfulness in the city. This has some helpful and practical tips on finding inner calm. My favourite section of this book, by far. I loved the idea behind the book. Calming spaces are very important, and especially for sensitive children who live in cit...

AUTHOR: Ed Yong GENRE: Animal Nonfiction RATING: 4 stars. In a Nutshell: A great option for animal nonfiction lovers. Goes a bit too technical with scientific parlance at times, but most of the content is comprehensible to lay readers. Humans have always tried to understand animals. However, one key thing that we either forget or don’t realise is that we try to use *our* understanding of the world to perceive *their* understanding of the world. Scientists have realised the flaw of this method, and have already begun the change in methodology for animal behaviour analysis, using the concept of Umwelt to understand animal behaviour rather than anthropomorphising them. Umwelt is the German word for ‘environment’, and it denotes an organism’s sensory world. Our sensory world is dictated by our senses—the five that are commonly termed senses (sight, sound, smell, taste, and touch) and the various other senses that we aren’t even aware of possessing (heat, pain, vibrations, balance,…) Howe...

AUTHOR: Rebel Girls GENRE: Children's Nonfiction, RATING: 4.25 stars. In a Nutshell: Unlike any Rebel Girls book so far. This book deals with the perks and the problems of adolescence. Somewhat text-intensive, but informative and relevant. The Rebel Girls team is known for their incisive books that provide mini-bios of inspiring women from the past and present. They have always been all-encompassing in terms of their content, staying inclusive and inspiring. This new offering remains true to the Rebel Girls spirit, but in terms of content, it is a step in a new (and welcome) direction. As the title suggests, this book is all about growing up. Not just growing up, but ‘growing up powerful.’ Aimed at the 8-14 year age group, the book covers varied topics as are necessary for little girls to transition into mature, self-loving women who know that their physical features don’t dictate who they are and who understand their body and mind. As a mother to two girls, I already own a couple ...

Author: Susan Cain Genre: Nonfiction, Psychology. Rating: 4.25 stars. In a Nutshell: Whether you are an extrovert or an introvert or an ambivert, this book will have something to help you understand yourself and those around you, thus creating a beautiful tandem between those who speak and those who just seek to listen. Quite a few of us are introverts. (In fact, as bookworms, there is a good chance that most of us are introverts.) The constant refrain we hear from the bombastic world around us is: open up more, interact more, get out more. Is introversion a problem that can be “fixed” by forcing extroversion on our personalities? Is this really possible? More importantly, is this really necessary? Do we need more talkers in the world? Susan Cain raises quite a few thought-provoking points in her debut work. Filled with psychological evidence, real-life anecdotes, and practical wisdom, this book brings up the importance of having introverts in every societal sphere: family, school, ent...